Some time ago, I decided that we should name Yuki’s toys after the people who gave them to her. Hence we think of those people every time Yuki eats the toy named after them. And I have decided that it is important to call them by first and last name.
This is Nancy Gahagan.
The actual Nancy Gahagan lives in Boston and both Philip and I used to tour shows with her. We would do these historical, interactive, educational dramas on the Salem Witch Trials and the Japanese-American Internment Camps, and sometimes we would get loopy. Nancy was a master of very subtle practical jokes. Once when I was testifying, as Mitsue Endo, about how horrifying it was to be kept in a horse stall, Nancy, who played the U.S. Government lawyer whinnied very quietly so only I could hear her. I almost did a spit take, which would not have been appropriate or professional (or possible, since I wasn't drinking anything).
Nancy Gahagan is Yuki’s most favorite toy. It has a good shape for itty-bitty Yuki hands to grab onto, it has a rattle at the end, which Yuki likes to shake and make noise with, it crinkles, AND it has fabric tags all over its body. Babies are koo-koo for tags. Yuki finds a tag in every toy and puts them in her mouth. Whoever designed Nancy Gahagan is BRILLIANT. It has everything a baby needs. What more could you ask for? Yuki clutches Nancy Gahagan when stressed. Yuki bites into Nancy Gahagan when she is feeling feisty. Yuki does not let go of Nancy Gahagan when we try to dress her. And Yuki sings (?) into Nancy Gahagan’s face when she is feeling jolly. We like to thank the real Nancy Gahagan for finding this toy and sending it to Yuki.
Now for the rest of Yuki’s collection—
This is Yuki’s close second, Chase York.
Real Chase is a swell 6th grader at my theatre. He just played the Minstrel in Once Upon A Mattress with a bunch of teenage actors and held his own quite well (and he’s a great boy soprano). He has a very dry sense of humor. This here toy was given to us by his mom, but we thought we’d call it Chase since, well, it resembled him more. When Nancy Gahagan is MIA, Chase York comes in. Yuki likes to bash Chase York against a table and eat his nose. I recently had to wash Chase York per Velveteen Rabbit because she was smearing Chase York with her bacterial ear-infected mucus. I feel bad for the Velveteen Rabbit—if only they thought to wash him in boiling water, they wouldn’t have had to burn him.
Speaking of that— Yuki had an ear infection in November, after I had viral laryngitis AND strep throat simultaneously. Good times. Then we all recovered. Then last week, she started with her sneezing and runny nose again, but this time, no one else was sick. But she got sick somehow. People tell you to wash hands often to avoid a cold, but let me tell you, when you have an infant who is eating her hands all day, then she grabs you by your mouth, and rubs her snotty face all over your face, no amount of hand washing does any good. Because, as our friend Lauren Hallal once told us, we are “introducing bacteria to our mucus membranes.” You are just going to get the cold. And sure enough, three days after she started sneezing, I got a cold. Our daily routine became, me wiping her nose while she screamed, me blowing my own nose while she stared at me, us putting her down in her bouncy seat instead of her bed so her head drained, and Philip sleeping next to her on the floor for four nights so that he could just reach over to help her fall back asleep. And yes, she has another ear infection. AWESOME.
Back to the people who live in our house.
This is Ellen Hill.
We like her because she can stand. The real Ellen Hill is a good friend to us and to the theatre. Her daughter is a YTN alum and is now a very successful grad student at ART in Boston. Ellen said she would have thought more carefully about what she chose to give Yuki had she known that we were going to name the cat after her.
This is Beth Laschever.
The real Beth Laschever went to Build-A-Bear and built this dog. She is a high school senior whom I have directed in seven plays. She just played Queen Aggravain in Mattress. I just finished writing her recommendation for my (and Philip's) alma mater, Emerson College. God help her.
This is Michelle Ward.
Michelle is Zach’s mom, among many other things. Michelle and her husband Rob are two of the nicest people we know. They have loaned us a newborn trough bed, a swing, an exer-saucer, a bouncy jungle thing, the aforementioned bouncy seat, a baby bath, and much more. Rob is also MacGyver. He can fix things and make things happen in the house that we didn’t know were possible. We have a Rob Ward too, but Yuki has not been introduced yet. We think Michelle Ward is appealing to Yuki because she can eat her beak.
There are many more in reserve so if you have given her a stuffed animal-like toys, do not be concerned (or, be very concerned). They will be introduced to Yuki with your full name. She will later wonder why we have friends named after her toys, but we’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.
P.S. People have been saying, “how special to have the first Christmas with your baby.” Yes, that is true, but there isn't a single present under the tree for her from us. And yet she has about 12 presents from various friends and family members. We’re thinking to get her a stroller and call it a day. Are we terrible parents?
P.P.S. We watched SuperBad (Yuki didn't watch it with us -- Philip is saving Werewolf in the Girl's Dormitory for her). It wasn’t as funny as we wanted it to be. But then again, we thought perhaps being parents tainted our opinion of it because all we could think during the entire movie was, “Yuki is going to be a teenager someday and we’re gonna have to have a talk with her about fake IDs and making people buy her alcohol and going to parties.” Among other unpleasant things (BOYS! I HATE BOYS! --Philip). Movies are ruined forever.
This is Nancy Gahagan.
The actual Nancy Gahagan lives in Boston and both Philip and I used to tour shows with her. We would do these historical, interactive, educational dramas on the Salem Witch Trials and the Japanese-American Internment Camps, and sometimes we would get loopy. Nancy was a master of very subtle practical jokes. Once when I was testifying, as Mitsue Endo, about how horrifying it was to be kept in a horse stall, Nancy, who played the U.S. Government lawyer whinnied very quietly so only I could hear her. I almost did a spit take, which would not have been appropriate or professional (or possible, since I wasn't drinking anything).
Nancy Gahagan is Yuki’s most favorite toy. It has a good shape for itty-bitty Yuki hands to grab onto, it has a rattle at the end, which Yuki likes to shake and make noise with, it crinkles, AND it has fabric tags all over its body. Babies are koo-koo for tags. Yuki finds a tag in every toy and puts them in her mouth. Whoever designed Nancy Gahagan is BRILLIANT. It has everything a baby needs. What more could you ask for? Yuki clutches Nancy Gahagan when stressed. Yuki bites into Nancy Gahagan when she is feeling feisty. Yuki does not let go of Nancy Gahagan when we try to dress her. And Yuki sings (?) into Nancy Gahagan’s face when she is feeling jolly. We like to thank the real Nancy Gahagan for finding this toy and sending it to Yuki.
Now for the rest of Yuki’s collection—
This is Yuki’s close second, Chase York.
Real Chase is a swell 6th grader at my theatre. He just played the Minstrel in Once Upon A Mattress with a bunch of teenage actors and held his own quite well (and he’s a great boy soprano). He has a very dry sense of humor. This here toy was given to us by his mom, but we thought we’d call it Chase since, well, it resembled him more. When Nancy Gahagan is MIA, Chase York comes in. Yuki likes to bash Chase York against a table and eat his nose. I recently had to wash Chase York per Velveteen Rabbit because she was smearing Chase York with her bacterial ear-infected mucus. I feel bad for the Velveteen Rabbit—if only they thought to wash him in boiling water, they wouldn’t have had to burn him.
Speaking of that— Yuki had an ear infection in November, after I had viral laryngitis AND strep throat simultaneously. Good times. Then we all recovered. Then last week, she started with her sneezing and runny nose again, but this time, no one else was sick. But she got sick somehow. People tell you to wash hands often to avoid a cold, but let me tell you, when you have an infant who is eating her hands all day, then she grabs you by your mouth, and rubs her snotty face all over your face, no amount of hand washing does any good. Because, as our friend Lauren Hallal once told us, we are “introducing bacteria to our mucus membranes.” You are just going to get the cold. And sure enough, three days after she started sneezing, I got a cold. Our daily routine became, me wiping her nose while she screamed, me blowing my own nose while she stared at me, us putting her down in her bouncy seat instead of her bed so her head drained, and Philip sleeping next to her on the floor for four nights so that he could just reach over to help her fall back asleep. And yes, she has another ear infection. AWESOME.
Back to the people who live in our house.
This is Ellen Hill.
We like her because she can stand. The real Ellen Hill is a good friend to us and to the theatre. Her daughter is a YTN alum and is now a very successful grad student at ART in Boston. Ellen said she would have thought more carefully about what she chose to give Yuki had she known that we were going to name the cat after her.
This is Beth Laschever.
The real Beth Laschever went to Build-A-Bear and built this dog. She is a high school senior whom I have directed in seven plays. She just played Queen Aggravain in Mattress. I just finished writing her recommendation for my (and Philip's) alma mater, Emerson College. God help her.
This is Michelle Ward.
Michelle is Zach’s mom, among many other things. Michelle and her husband Rob are two of the nicest people we know. They have loaned us a newborn trough bed, a swing, an exer-saucer, a bouncy jungle thing, the aforementioned bouncy seat, a baby bath, and much more. Rob is also MacGyver. He can fix things and make things happen in the house that we didn’t know were possible. We have a Rob Ward too, but Yuki has not been introduced yet. We think Michelle Ward is appealing to Yuki because she can eat her beak.
There are many more in reserve so if you have given her a stuffed animal-like toys, do not be concerned (or, be very concerned). They will be introduced to Yuki with your full name. She will later wonder why we have friends named after her toys, but we’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.
P.S. People have been saying, “how special to have the first Christmas with your baby.” Yes, that is true, but there isn't a single present under the tree for her from us. And yet she has about 12 presents from various friends and family members. We’re thinking to get her a stroller and call it a day. Are we terrible parents?
P.P.S. We watched SuperBad (Yuki didn't watch it with us -- Philip is saving Werewolf in the Girl's Dormitory for her). It wasn’t as funny as we wanted it to be. But then again, we thought perhaps being parents tainted our opinion of it because all we could think during the entire movie was, “Yuki is going to be a teenager someday and we’re gonna have to have a talk with her about fake IDs and making people buy her alcohol and going to parties.” Among other unpleasant things (BOYS! I HATE BOYS! --Philip). Movies are ruined forever.
Comments
and when you do get that stroller, be sure to name it philimi or milip or apply whatever method you have devised for naming one thing that is a gift from two people..."yuki - do you want to take a walk in your mommydaddy?